Hathaway Award winner announced at Maple Street School

Posted
Friday, June 13, 2014 8:34 am

MANCHESTER - Maple Street School is proud to announce that the Jay Hathaway Courage to Care Award was presented to Lily Thebault.

When Maple Street began in 1998, the founders decided that the school would not have a valedictorian or a dean's list. Instead, they wanted to highlight the one thing that was perhaps most important; serving the community. Five years ago, Maple Street School renamed the award the "Jay Hathaway Courage to Care" award. Maple Street chose this name because "Courage to Care" is an Academy Award nominated documentary and book celebrating those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. It was the simple, everyday people, not heroically looking for accolades, but just truly compassionate people through simple acts of kindness that helped others and even saved lives. It is that natural love for others and exuberant love of life, very much like the happy way that Jay Hathaway lived everyday, that inspires this award.

Thebault - an eighth grader - was selected by faculty members as the recipient of this award for many reasons. Thebault leads by example, and in her daily life, she is kind, compassionate and empathetic. In addition, she has traveled extensively to India and Africa, broadening her understanding of the world and its people. She also spent time with her church group in South Dakota on an Indian reservation as well.

Her three-week service trip with her mother in India was, perhaps the most profound. This affected her world perspective, and naturally (in the way typically Thebault would), she wrote about it in a speech for the Sarnoff Speech Contest at Southern Vermont College, earning first place. Thebault has embraced all that Maple Street has to offer. She served as host to the talent show, she takes care of younger kids in playground step up for work jobs, won the young naturalist award for her independent science project. One of her teachers said, "she has an authentic sweet smile and instinctive kindness, and she is a leader and very well deserving of this award and honor."

Maple Street School is an independent day school serving children in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade.
For more information about the school, please call Admissions Director Jeff Barclay at (802) 362-7137 or visit on the web at www.maplestreetschool.com.

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